His Secret: Book II of The Unexpected Babies Duet Read online

  “What’s his full name?” Bryce quietly asked me as I stood back up to my full height and moved towards the other chair in the room – the one farthest from Bryce. I knew he would never do anything to Cyrus; I remembered him well enough to know that, but I knew Bryce wasn’t above lashing out at me for what I had done – what I had stripped away from him.

  “Cyrus Bryce Jennings.” I said softly, swallowing thickly after.

  Bryce just stared at me coolly, his eyes flashing with barely restrained rage. My pulse hammered at the base of my throat. “Why name him after me if you never planned to tell me about him?” He angrily demanded after a moment of staring at me.

  I cast my eyes away from him. I had never lied to Cyrus about who his father was; I had always been honest with him about why Bryce wasn’t around.

  I wanted to give Bryce the opportunities that I would never again have.

  I looked back up at him. “Because if one day he asked about his dad -”

  Bryce clenched his fists. “Don’t you give me a fucking pity story” He snarled as he cut me off. I flinched at his cold, angry tone, casting my eyes away from him, clearly intimidated. “I don’t want to hear about how you were going to tell him that I was a great man and that we didn’t work out, but you wanted him to have a part of me.”

  I swallowed hard, casting my gaze towards the floor again as he practically hit my thoughts spot on. I had forgotten how well Bryce had figured me out before I had faked an abortion and we had separated, going our own ways to follow our dreams – or at least letting Bryce follow his.

  “We will be getting married.” Bryce quietly told me after we sat in silence for a moment. Though his voice was soft, I could still clearly hear the fury tainting each word that he spoke.

  “What?” I demanded, snapping my eyes to his in horror.

  He couldn’t be serious, could he?

  “Did I stutter?” He spit. I bit my bottom lip, my heart furiously pounding in my chest. He couldn’t force me to do this. He couldn’t force me to marry him. “As soon as I’m allowed out of this hospital and can walk properly again, I’m dragging your ass down to the courthouse, and we will get married, Logan.”

  “B-but, why?” I demanded, my chest painfully constricting as I tried to hold back my anxiety attack. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I had expected anything but this.

  “Because I will not take the chance that you run away from me with my son again, Logan.” He snarled. I resisted the urge to curl into myself – anything to protect my already tattered and worn-down heart and soul. He was taking away the last bit of freedom I had – taking away everything that I had fought for. “Your only other option is that I take you to court, and I take primary custody of Cyrus. Your fucking choice.” He snapped, putting the ball in my court.

  I couldn’t lose my little boy. Bryce couldn’t take Cyrus from me. Cyrus was my only reason for living, for getting up every morning. Without Cyrus, I was nothing – just a shell of a human being with no purpose.

  Tears welled in my eyes at the thought of losing my son. I saw pain momentarily flash through Bryce’s eyes before his fury quickly replaced it. It was there and gone so quickly I was pretty sure that I had imagined it.

  “Y- you can’t take him f-from me.” I choked out, blinking furiously to try to keep my tears from falling. They were burning at the back of my eyes, threatening to pour down my cheeks like a waterfall.

  Bryce leaned forward, his eyes narrowed on my face in a challenge – a challenge I had no urge to meet. “I can, and I will, Logan, if you refuse to marry me. Either way, I will get my son full time.” He warned me.

  “But you’re military.” I told him, my voice breaking. I was desperate. I didn’t want to marry Bryce. I didn’t want to be forced into a loveless marriage, especially to a man that I was almost a hundred percent sure hated me at that moment with every fiber of his being.

  “And while I’ve been in the military, I’ve been running a fucking oil company.” He snarled at me. I resisted the urge to whimper. My world was crumbling under his power. “I’m being given an honorary discharge from the Marines because I got shot. I have all of the fucking money and time in the world right now to support a child. Don’t you dare try to find any kind of holes in my plan, Logan. Which will it be?” He angrily demanded, his blue eyes blazing with rage.

  “I’ll marry you.” I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut, desperately trying to hold back my tears.

  “That’s what I thought.” He snapped. I flinched. “Now, I want to meet my son.” He told me, his voice suddenly much calmer now.

  Nodding wordlessly, feeling completely helpless in the situation that I was in, I stood up and walked over to Cyrus, feeling Bryce’s eyes on my every move. I knelt down in front of my little boy as he looked up from my phone to my face. “Mommy crying?” He asked, reaching out to touch my damp cheek with his small fingers.

  “Mommy is fine, baby.” I assured him as I grabbed his hand and pressed a tender kiss to his palm. He smiled. “Remember asking me why Wolfe has a daddy and you don’t?” I asked him. He nodded. “You see that man over there on that bed?” I asked. He looked over at Bryce, his smile falling slightly. “That’s your daddy, Cyrus. He’s been gone overseas for a long time, but he’s ready to meet you now.” I told him.

  Dropping my phone onto the chair he had been sitting in, he got down and walked over to the bed, climbing onto it. Cyrus wasn’t a shy child – he never had been. I knew that it was a trait he got from his father. Cyrus met every challenge in front of him without hesitation or fear.

  Bryce smiled at him, his eyes soft and tender as he looked at his little boy. “Are you my daddy?” Cyrus bluntly asked him.

  Bryce grinned, and despite my shattered soul, my chest warmed at the sight. “I am, kiddo.” He assured Cyrus as he grabbed my little boy and settled him on his good leg.

  I made up an excuse to go get a coffee and walked out of the room, holding my tears in until the hospital room door shut behind me. I slapped my hand over my mouth to smother my sob as hot tears slid down my cheeks.

  It was over.

  It was all over.

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called London, feeling like my world was crashing down around me.

  “Hey, sweetheart.” She answered, her tone gentle. “How is it going?” She asked me, referring to Bryce with Cyrus.

  “It’s horrible.” I sobbed. She sucked in a sharp breath at the sound of my tears. “He’s perfect with him. He’s so prepared to be a father. And he’s forcing me to marry him.” I cried.

  “Oh, Logan.” London murmured sadly. “Hunter and I are on our way to the hospital, okay?”

  “Okay.” I whispered, desperately needing my best friend.

  If I didn’t get some kind of support soon, I was going to fall apart. I wasn’t strong. I hid a lot of my pain, but I was never the strong woman people assumed that I was.

  I hid so much of my pain and suffering.

  I hung up and went to the bathroom down the hall to splash water on my face, desperately trying to calm myself down before I had to face Bryce again.

  Oh, God – and Cyrus. I couldn’t let him see me like this. For him, I always put up a brave front. I never wanted him to see how much of an emotional, destroyed mess his mother was.

  But, God, why did Bryce have to be so perfect with him?

  I felt so fucking guilty. I should have never lied to him. I should have just told Bryce from the very beginning that I never got an abortion – should have never even brought the idea up.

  Every bit of unhappiness I went through now was what I deserved for doing this to him, I silently scolded myself.

  I had ripped a perfect father from his son. I had ripped my son of an amazing father for so long. Bryce would have made the best dad, but I had never given him the chance to make that decision on his own.

  This was my price to pay.

  I looked up at my expression in the mirror, cringing back. My eyes were blood
shot and red, but they were filled with the years of pain and suffering I tried so hard to hide from everyone. My face was unnaturally pale, and I looked exhausted and completely worn down.

  I released a bitter laugh as I shook my head and looked away from my reflection.

  What a fucking mess.

  ✤ ✤ ✤

  I was sitting on the floor outside of Bryce’s hospital room when Hunter and Logan strolled down the hallway, Wolfe’s hand gripped in Hunter’s. I stood up from the floor, swiping at my eyes as I did so. As much as I had hated it, I hadn’t been able to stop silently crying.

  I had fought for so long to be independent only for it to be stripped away from me in a split second.

  I had tried so hard to be strong for my son, and yet so quickly, Bryce had stripped me of the little strength that I had managed to gain.

  London instantly pulled me into a warm hug. I shuddered at the amount of restraint it took to not completely break down. “Have you gone back in there yet?” She asked me.

  I shook my head. “I can’t. I feel so fucking guilty, London.” I told her as I stepped back, wiping my hands down my face. “And now, he’s forcing me to marry him. I don’t have a choice, London.” I choked out.

  She reached up and wiped my cheeks of my tears, giving me a stern look. “You are a perfect mother, Logan. You did what you felt was right, and if Bryce wants to make you feel guilty for doing that, then he’s got another thing coming for him. I’ll be damned if he treats you this way.” She snapped. She cupped my face in her hands. “You are strong, and you fought so hard to make yourself into the woman you are today. Do not let that asshole in there tear you back down into the girl you used to be.”

  Hunter rested a hand on her lower back, looking down at her with a concerned expression. “Don’t get worked up.” He told her sternly.

  She rolled her eyes at him. Obviously, he finally knew about her pregnancy. “I’m fine, Hunter, I promise.” She assured her husband.

  She pushed open the door, stepping in. I followed in behind her. Bryce stopped playing on his phone with Cyrus, both of them looking up at us. Cyrus grinned widely at the sight of his best friend while Bryce angrily clenched his jaw. “Got scared?” He snapped at me.

  “Shove it, Bryce.” London snapped back at him, not giving me a chance to respond.

  He narrowed his eyes at her. She looked over at Hunter. “Take the boys down to the play area downstairs.” She instructed him.

  He shot her a worried look. “London -” He started, but she shook her head at him, her eyes pleading with him to just listen to her.

  “Please.” She added softly.

  With a resigned sigh, he looked at Cyrus. “Hey, kid, you want to come play with Wolfe?” Hunter asked him.

  Eagerly nodding his head, Cyrus got off of the bed and rushed over to Hunter. Bryce crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowed on me and London as Hunter left the room with the two boys. I swallowed thickly. I had a feeling in my gut that this was going to end badly. “You’ve gotten a lot fucking braver over the years.” He snarled at London.

  “You better watch your fucking tone with me.” She snapped back at him. My eyes widened. I almost never heard her curse, but when she did, I knew she was pissed.

  Even Bryce’s eyes widened in shock. The London he remembered was sweet. Though he had kept in contact with London and Hunter over the years, even he knew she didn’t get like this.

  “Logan has done everything she can for that little boy.” London snapped at him. Bryce’s blue eyes turned as cold as ice. “She bent over fucking backwards for him - doing everything she thought was right for him, and regrettably, you as well. She gave you a fucking opportunity that she gave up. You told her you never wanted to be like your parents, and she gave you the out that you needed to ensure that you never did.” She reminded him.

  “She kept my kid from me for almost five fucking years, London!” Bryce roared at her.

  “You were given the opportunity a lot of young parents don’t fucking get!” London shouted back at him. “You need to have more fucking respect for the mother of your damn child!”

  “I can’t fucking do that when she sure as hell hasn’t given me any fucking reason to respect her to begin with.” Bryce snarled. I flinched at his words as I swallowed back my tears. “I gave her two fucking options. Either she marries me, or I take primary custody of Cyrus. She chose to marry me. She’s sealed her own fucking fate, London.”

  London clenched her jaw and turned to face me, her blue eyes revealing how angry she was on my behalf. “If you want to take it to court instead of being forced to marry him, Logan, Hunter and I will get you the best fucking attorney. He won’t stand a fucking chance.” She told me.

  “You’re forgetting that I’m the mother fucking CEO of the biggest oil company the world has fucking seen.” Bryce snarled at her. London tensed, clenching her fists by her sides at his words. Tears filled my eyes once again. There was nothing anyone could do to help me. I had dug my own grave, and now it was time to lay in it.

  “And you’re also forgetting the fact that she lied and hid my son from me. She had to have you and Hunter take care of Cyrus until she was no longer a ward of the state. He was fucking ill, and she left him in the care of you and Hunter instead of staying home from work like a proper mother. I’m sure I can easily dig up even more than that.” Bryce snarled. “Do not fucking test me.”

  I shook my head at London as tears silently streamed down my face. “Don’t worry about it.” I told her softly.

  Pain flashed across London’s face as she dropped her purse from her shoulder, her hand going to her belly. “London!” I shouted, grabbing her and easing her onto the floor, terrified to move her.

  This was what Hunter had been worried about. Any children for them was a risk with all that she had gone through with Wolfe, and now I had put her at risk.

  “Fuck!” Bryce shouted, pressing the button for a nurse and grabbing his phone.

  “London, talk to me.” I told her softly, ignoring Bryce as my instincts as a nurse kicked in. “You need to breathe. Everything is going to be fine.” I assured her as she began to panic, her eyes filling with tears. My heart broke for my best friend. “You already figured this pregnancy was going to be high risk. Panicking is not going to help anything. Stay calm.” I instructed.

  The door burst open as Hunter rushed in, dropping Cyrus and Wolfe on Bryce’s bed. He knelt beside London, his eyes terrified as he looked down at his crying wife. “Sunshine, look at me and breathe.” He instructed her, his voice calm and steady despite the fear that I knew he was feeling. “They’re coming with a gurney, okay? Everything is going to be alright.” He soothed.

  “Hunter, I’m scared.” She sobbed.

  I got up and moved away from them as three nurses came in with Dr. Turner. Hunter lifted her up onto the bed, and Dr. Turner instantly injected something into her arm. Wolfe began crying at all of the commotion, quickly getting overwhelmed. Hunter grabbed him and held him close as they wheeled London out of the room, her form going limp and unconscious as the sedative they gave her began to take effect.

  “What did you fucking say to her?” Hunter snarled, turning to me and Bryce with angry, dark eyes.

  Bryce looked absolutely fucking guilty. I cast my eyes to the floor, my throat closing with tears. “I think the stress of the argument did it.” Bryce admitted softly. “I’m sorry, man. If I’d known she was pregnant -”

  “Fucking save it.” Hunter snarled, snatching London’s purse up and striding out of the room as he tried consoling the little boy in his arms that was crying for his mother.

  Bryce looked up at me. “How far along is she?” He asked me, for once not angry with me.

  “Almost thirteen weeks.” I informed him. His face paled. “She was going to surprise him for his birthday with the pictures of the ultrasound revealing the gender of their baby if he didn’t figure out that she was pregnant before then, but he found out already.” r />
  “Fuck.” He whispered, dropping his head into his hands. “I knew they were trying for a really long time.”

  I gently rested my hand on his shoulder, surprising myself that I was actually trying to comfort him after all of the horrible things he had said to me. “It’s not your fault.” I assured him. “Her doctor told her that her pregnancy was high risk. It could have happened any time.”

  He looked up at me. I gave him a small smile. He sighed, looking to Cyrus, moving away from me as if I were the plague. I swallowed hard, letting my hand fall to my side. “Hey, kid, want to watch a movie with me?” Bryce asked Cyrus.

  Cyrus eagerly nodded, excited to spend time with his dad. As he moved to sit next to Bryce, he looked up at him. “Daddy,” my breath caught in my throat as tears filled my eyes, “is Aunt London going to be okay?”

  Bryce kissed the top of his head. “Aunt London will be perfectly fine, Cyrus.” Bryce assured him softly. “Your aunt is the strongest woman I know.” He assured him.

  I turned away from the image they made, blinking back the tears in my eyes as I painfully realized I would never be a strong woman in Cyrus’s life.

  No matter how hard I tried to be, I wasn’t that strong – definitely would never be as strong as his Aunt London.

  I sat down in the chair beside Bryce’s hospital bed, shutting my eyes tiredly as they began watching a movie on Bryce’s laptop.

  I did the only thing I knew to do when life became too much for me to deal with.

  I slept.

  T H R E E

  B R Y C E

  “Mommy is going to have a nightmare.” Cyrus suddenly spoke up as he looked over at his mother.

  My eyebrows pulled together in confusion as I looked down at him. He had been quiet for the past couple of hours as his mom slept, silently watching a random animated movie on my phone with me.

  And though I thought I would have been pissed that Logan was sleeping, I actually wasn’t. My heart had constricted in my chest when I witnessed her crying earlier, but I wouldn’t – couldn’t – let up on her.